Speed-governor for prime movers.



G.RE HNERFEIT; SPEED GOVERNOR POR Pmmlwvms. `VV QAPPLQIAJATION FILED 0012.10, 1000;

a [mig-0mm 1.

Y lim lllllllllllllll'l l G. RENNERFBLT, SPEED GOVERNOR FOR PRIME MVERSi APPLIOAT'IQN HLED 0013.10, 1908.

Patented Aug.4, 10m,

3 SHEETS-SHEET` 2 G. RENNERFBLT. SPEED GOVERNOR I OR PRIME MOVERS.

l APPLICATION FILED 0(}T.10,1908A Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'nip F NEI/i7 YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO AUGUST SUNDH, 0F YONKERS, NEV YORK.

\ l SPEED-GOVEBNORYFGB IDRIIVIE MOVEBJS.

Lacasse.

To all v'whom t may' concern.'

Be it known -that I, GUSTAF RENNERFELT,

a subject 0f the King'of Sweden, and resident ofl 4New York, borough of Manhattan,

county and State of New York, have made a new and useful Invention in Speed-Governors for Prime Movers, of which the following is a specication. i

My. 'invention is directed particularly to a novel form .of speed governor for use in power plants where any variation in the anionnt-of power utilized is caused'to cor-I i resp-ondi'ngly vary the application of power from the prime mover which suppliesthev saine, and to this; end itis directed generically to speed governor which is essentially differential in its action; lthat is to say, its construction is. such that the slightest variation, either in the amount ofenergy being used in the system or in the application of energy `delivered to theV prime mover byreason ofthe proper application of. di'ierential gear mechanism, will cause a regulation 0fthe-most' delicate nature.-

My invention has for itsl objects, first,to devise afspeedgovernor which shall beso sensitiveasto act instantaneously for any change, -however small, in'tlie speed ofthe to construction; veasy to install, and located prime mover or for a variation of load in the power system connected therewith, and

which. shall not be liable tothe well known faulty of "Ahunting a fault'comm'on to all ball or analogous' centrifugal speed lgovernors. Second, to provide a speed governor which shall be essentially lreliable in its ioperation, durable, andfrelatively, cheap as as near as possible tothe prime mover itself,

utilizing a-niinimum number of parts, and

avoiding, asfar as' possible',v the disturbing influence' due to loose joints or play between the parts.' Third, to provide a speed governor in'which the essential elements thereof are governed or actuated by differential lgear mechanism controlled 'in their operation by thejoint action of the energy being utilized in the system and theapplied enwhich drives the prime mover itself. Prior to my,invention` centrifugal speed governors of the rotary ball type have been largely used in the art, but such governors are not suflicieiitly sensitive to give the best possible results, 'because of the fact that the force exerted on the mechanism by the rotating balls is necessarily small when the Specification of letters Eatent.

Application filed Uctober 10, 1908. Seral'No. 457,058.

Patented Ang, el, figli-l.,

.this objectionable feature and I' am enabled,

by the use of my improved governor, to veffect a degree of regulation of the most delicate sensi'tiveness, and this result I accomplishv by the apparatus hereinafter del' scribed.

For-.a yfull and clear understanding of my inventiom-,such as will enable others skilled in the art to'construct and use the saine, vreference is had to the accompany- -ing drawings, in which,

l Figure l is va side elevational view of a prime mover of the turbine type showingvarious parts of my improved speed governor partly in section and as seen looking at Fig. 2 from the bottom toward the topv of the drawings in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating also diagrammatically its application-in connection with a system ofapplied energy; in this instance, an electric lighting system or plant. fFig. 2 is a plan view of'Fig. l as seen looking from the top towaid thebottoin of the drawings, certain of the essential operative parts of the governor being shownl in sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail view partly in side elevation and partly in section of the controlling worm, its swivel connection with' the valve stem of the controller and the screwthreaded hub and one of the pinions orgeai'- wheels connected therewith. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified form of the invention; and, Fig. 5 is al detail sectional view taken through Fig. il on the broken line- C-D and as, seen looking thereat from the bottom toward the top of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings invv detail and first to Figs. l to?) inclusive, l represents the prime mover illustrated in the present instance as a hydraulic turbine having an inlet pipe 3 and an outlet or discharge 105 pipe 4 and a vertically disposed rotary shaft 2, 5 being an operating shaft connected to the gate or control valve, not shown, and G a pinion on said shaft meshing vwith a'rack 7 on one end 0f a pistonrod operatively con- 110 is a hollow piston valve enlarged at its-- opposite ends, as shown, and adapted t0 be moved. back and forth in .a cylinder? 11 operatively connected with the cylinder 9 by two ports' and with the inlet pipe 3 by a control ipe'12 provided with a hand control noci; iror-regulating; theow of water therethrough. 18 is a discharge pipe for permitting of the withdrawal of the water from the cylinder 9' during'the operation lof thegovernor.v -14 is a rigid bracket or shelf securely lbolted`to"-the head ofthe hydraulic cylinder 9. 15- is a'base-plate provided with a. tongue` on its lower surface arranged to slide back and forth in a groove in the upper face of the rigid bracket or .shelf 14. 16 is a motive device illustrated as an .electric motor rigidly secured toa sliding base dove-tailed at its opposite sides and adapted to move back and vfdrth in dove-tailed groovesv in the base-plate 15. 17 is a second motive devicel or electric motor rigidly sel cured by bolts directly to thebase-plate 15.

These two motors 16 and 17 are preferably of small capacity and of shunt wound type, the :ield circuits being illustrated diagrammatically. The ymotor 16 is' operatively connected vin circuit across the current feeders `of the plant which in turn are connected directly to a dynamo 31.. driven by the prime .mover for turbine 1; while the motor 17 isi` connected incircnitl with. a storage battery or other constant source of energy 18, and valso connected through an electric regulator' embracing a solenoid 30 andurheostat 29, the

t relationso these motors lto the entire system being. such that the motor 16 is adapted to run at a speedsproportionate tothe speed of the [turbine or ,prime mover while the motor 17 is designedltozbedriven at constant speed,v

or at a speed 'increasing with the load on the dynamo 31.Y 32 and v33 are switches for starting and stopping these two motors. 19 is a wormy or screw shown in enlarged view iu Fig- 8 connected at one end tothe .armatureot the motor 16 ,and at the other through -a fswivel j oint`20 `with .a valve-stem 21-connected yintuin to the valve 10. 22 is a nut located on the worm .19 and operatively connected through a binding nut and yield-A ing friction washer with a gear-wheel 23, said nut being provided with a groove at one end.(seev Fig. 3) for receiving; the end of a stationary arm secured directly to the lbase plate 15 (see Fig. 2'), so that the nut cau-v not change its position when rotated with relationto such plate and., consequently, to the motor 17 carried thereby. It .is the functionof the 'binding nut and washer to afford su-iicient `friction between said nut and the gear-wheel v23 to enable the latter te sli-p,

in the event of the nut being driven to either eXtreme end. of the worm. 19, su'iiicient friction being had,.however, between said parts Ato transmit motion to the nut 22 through the gear-wheel :23 from. a second gear-wheel on the armature shaft of the motor 17. 24 is a A.rack on the lower end ofthe piston rod which carries the piston 8, said rack being adapted to mesh with a' ge. r segment integral with a hollow shaft and a second gear segment 27 or smaller diameter, said shaft carrying these two segments being journaled upon a vertically disposed pin 26 bolted to fthe rigid 'bracket 111. Q8 is a rack out in one of the side edges oi' the sliding baseA plate 15, said rack meshing with the segment 27.

The operation is as follows: Upon the supposition that both of the switches 32 and 33 are closed and the gate of the turbine l ism open position water is flowing from the inlet pipe dftherethrough and out by the outlet 4 thus driving the turbine. So long as the speed 'of the turbine remains constant the rotativefspeeds' of the 'worm 19 and nut 22 are equal and there can be no differential variation in their relative axial positions.; consequently, the piston valve 10 remains in a definite position. l Suppose now :thata load bel added to the turbine bythe :placing in circuit of lmore electric lights, thereby requiring additional water for maintaining its speed, such load will necessarily slow down the turbine and cause the worm to rotate slower than the nut because of the fact that any decrease in 'the speed oi the dynamo 31 will necessarily cause a diminished speed in the armature of the motor F16 which drives the worm. rfhe worm will, therefore, move axially in the nut 22, said worm and its motor 16 sliding upon the base-plate 15, thereby shifting the valve 10 so as to admit water behind the piston '8. The piston.A 8 will, therefore, move and by means of the rack 7 and pinion 6 -turn the gate in such direction as to admit more water to the turbine. The movement of the piston 8 in the direction of the arrow a will cause a movement of the base-plate 15 in the direction of the arrow b and this wil-l cause both of the motors 1G and I17, together with the nut 22, worm 19, and valve 10 to also move in the direction of the arrow so as to again close the valve and shut off water fromy the cylinder, 9,;l or, in other words, any motion of the valve due to the difference in rotative. speeds of theworm and the l nut will be compensated for by a motion of the valve in the opposite direction due to the movement of the plate 15, such action end of the cylinder9 and whether the gate tor ,17.

of the' .turbine is closed, open,or 1n any intermediate position but` .this valve will be instantly opened for 'a-'small variation in the relative speed ofthe turbine 1 and mo- If the load-fon thel turbine js decreased Aits tendency is lto-vru-n faster andthe gate should be adjusted to admit a smaller quantityof water.`v Thisiseected by the governor in such'manner that the worm 19 being Arotated faster than/the-nnt 22 will move, together wit-h vits motor 16, in adirection opposite tothe one beforev mentioned, and shift 'the valve '.10 so as to admit'wate'r on the opposite side of `piston 8, thereby causing al partial. closing of the gate, themove ment of the gate causing a-movement of the plate So v that the valve 10 is restored to der 9.

normal position; that is to Say, such posi# tion that it closes bot-h of the ports in cylin- TWhen the turbine'is to 'be stoppedthe' switch 33 in thecircuit of motor 17 (which switch is preferablyfplaced on vthe switch board) is opened. Themot-or 17 will then stopwan'd the motor 16W-ill shiftfthe valve 10A to such position that". thergate-will be fully closed so as to'shut otl' all water from the' turbine.' The turbineand motor 16 will then come to a gradual stop?, the nut 22 sliding in the hub ofthe -cogwheel 23 so` that no breakage will occur. In the operation of electric power plants or stations it is ,Sometimes important that the speed ofthe dynamo shall increase when' its. load increases so as to counteract for v drop of the voltage in the line. With my improved regulator or governor ,I eect this automatically by raising the speed of the motor through the agency of the solenoid 30 and rheostat .29 acting so as to weaken the field of motor 17 when the load on' the dynamo 31 is increased.

A number oli modifications ofthe above described apparatus might be devised and still comewithin. the scope of my claims. In vFigs.v aand 5 of the 'drawings I have illust-rated one such modified form 'of a1 oaratus in which two worms 19 are driven by the motors ,16 and 17 mounted in a somewhat diiierent manner from Fig. 2 and in terconnected with gear-wheel 23 journaled upon the valve-stem 21, the segments 25 and 27 being supported by a journal pin 26, as before, and intergeared respectively with the racks 24 and 28,- the circuit connections tothe motors and systein'being thesame as in Fig. 1, but not shown in Fig.v 4. The

operation of this modiied form will be obvious it being apparent that for any variation in the speed of the two motors 16 and 17 there will be a'corresponding differential var-lation in the movement of the valvestem 21, the interrelation between theplate 'as its load is 15 and the piston 8 being elfected in `substantially the same manner -aswere Athe' movements of i the like parts in Fig. 2, through the aforesaid sector and rack connections. 'It is also evident that the constant speed motor may drive either the nut or the worm. IpreferI in most cases to use the motor 16 instead of belti-ng and shatting for the following 4reasons:-Hydraulic turbines are 'often located in inaccessible places so that it becomes a matter` of `'some dilliculty to. ar-

range the mechanicalconnection between the turbine gateand the speed'governor mechanism, without'introducing, under such conditions, loose joints or exiblelmembers which tendl to detract-from the sensitiveness of the governor; because it is essential that a'movementfof .the valve 10 should effect a motion ofthe gateanda' movement ofthey gate` should restore the valve toits normal position. Theefore, there should -be no lost motion in the connections. between the valve andthe ga'te. The motor 16 constitutes a simple and reliable means of .connection between the turbineor prime mover and the worm' L9 and can be readily constructed and 4so arranged in connection .therewith asjto and use power,and my claims are designed to cover a speed governor of the character indicated when thus applied gene-rally in the arts.

' Having thus described my invention what I clainrand desire to secure by Letters Pateent of the United States is- 1. The combination of a prime mover; a source of power independent of the source of power which drives the Vprime mover and a motor driven by said second source of power; means for automatically increasing the speed of the motor upon 'an increase in' the load of the prime mover, and means formaintaining the speed yofthe prime mover proportionate to the speed-of the motor.

2. A prime mover in the nature of a` power driven turbine; together with a. dynamo electric 4machine driven thereby; a system of electrical energy supplied with current therefrom; an electro-motive device driven directly by a part ofthe current supplied to the system, and a second electromotive device driven by an independent source of :electrical energy; in combination with means for regulating the energy whichv drives the prime mover and differential gear mechanism driven by the tvo motive devices and operatively connected to said regulating means; together with electro-:magnetically controlled means operatively conv nected With the dynamo electric machine for regulating the electro-motive device driven by-the independent source of electrical energy."

3. A prime mover, a dynamo lelectric machine driven thereby; a system of electrical energy supplied with current therefrom; an electro-motive device driven directly by a part Iof thecurrent supplied to the system,

and a second electro-motive device driven by;

an independent source of electrical energy; 4in combination vwith means for regulating the energy which drives the prime mover; and differential gear mechanism driven by the two motivev devices and operatively connected tov said regulating means; together with means controlled also by the current generated and operatively connected with the second named electro-motive device' for regulating the speedy thereof.

4.-. A :hydraulic turbine having a gate for controlling the amount of Water admitted to it; a hydraulic cylinder; a piston therein;

manege connection lbetween the gate and the piston;

a valve for the cylinder; a stationary bracket; a plate arranged to slide on the' bracket; a motor arranged to slide on the plante; amotor bolted to the plate; and connection between the valve and both the motors.

5. A `hydraulic turbine having a gate; .a hydraulic cylinder; a piston therein; a valve in the cylinder; a bracket attached to the cylinder; a plate arranged to slide on the bracket; ra vmotor bolted to the plate; a motor arranged to slide on the plate; connectionbetween the valve and both motors; connection between the plate and the piston, and connection between the gate and the piston.

6. A prime mover; fa dynamo driven thereby; a motor whose speed depends on the voltage Iof the dynamo;l a motor Whose speed depends on the load on the dynamo, 

